Offline: boiling it down to the essentials

Paul Miller occasionally sends out dispatches, as The Verge calls them, articles about one thing or another penned by a writer who has forsaken the internet for an entire year. His last piece I read, Offline: Love, Loss, and Dating Without Facebook, was interesting only insofar as a story about an anticlimactic love endeavor can be; his latest article, linked at the top of this post, is much, much better. As Paul chronicled his difficulties finding the motivation to make good use of his newfound time, I couldn’t help but relate.

“These don’t make for catchy book titles:

* No Internet, No Life: The Paul Miller Story

* How To Disconnect From Reality In 365 Days

* At First I Liked Not Using The Internet But Then It Got Kind Of Sucky”

Paul’s piece made me laugh and it prompted introspection. If nothing else, if not for the great story, read the piece as a shining example of excellent prose.